Lake Victoria sanitation project to benefit from France grant

December 17, 2015

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By MARGARET NJUGUNAH, Lake Victoria sanitation project to benefit from France grant/FILENAIROBI, Kenya, Dec 17 – The Lake Victoria Water and Sanitation Project and the Kenya Informal settlement Improvement projects are set to benefit following the signing of the grant agreement between the National Treasury and the French Development Agency.

The Lake Victoria Water and Sanitation project takes home Sh550million in the grant agreement while the Informal settlement project receives Sh3.9 billion in credit.

National Treasury Cabinet Secretary Henry Rotich welcomed the grant saying that the support would contribute enormously in the development of the country.

“Lake Victoria Water and Sanitation Project, for instance, is part of a bigger regional project around Lake Victoria involving Tanzania and Uganda. When the Lake Victoria Water and Sanitation Project is completed, it will improve access to reliable, clean, safe, affordable and sustainable water supply to the people of Kisumu City,” Rotich said.

The French Development Agency is the lead donor in the implementation of the Lake Victoria Water and Sanitation Project alongside European Investment Bank (EIB), EU-Africa Infrastructure Trust Fund and the Government of Kenya.

Broken down, EIB will render 35 million Euros, while the EU-Africa Infrastructure Trust Fund will contribute 5 million Euros with Kenya Government’s contribution of 10 million Euros.

“The project will also provide sanitation and waste management services through rehabilitation and extension of sewage networks. The initiative is pro-poor and will target the poor population where access to improved water and sanitation services is currently very low.”

The French Development Agency will also co-finance the Settlement project alongside the World Bank, the Swedish International Development Agency and the Government of Kenya.

According to Rotich, the settlement initiative intends to improve livelihoods of at least 2.5million people living and working in informal sectors in Kenya.

“This project will involve improvement of roads, drainage and footpaths, water and sanitation, infrastructure and installation of floodlights,” Rotich explained.

The informal settlement project and the Lake Vitoria projects will be implemented respectively over three and five years.

The agreements were signed by the Treasury Cabinet Secretary and the AFD Regional Director Yves Boudot. French Ambassador Remi Marechaux co-signed both agreements.

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MARGARET NJUGUNAH I'm a business reporter based in Nairobi, Kenya. I'm passionate about feature stories on personal finance, development and technology.